Green Builder Media announces a ground-breaking special report on Assisted Living Technology (ALT). In the recent issue of Green Builder, which houses the report, Editor-in-Chief Matt Power says it is time for tech companies to move way beyond clappers and wheelchair ramps. ALT looks at the potential of accessory dwelling units as a timely trend--a transition to affordable, independent living for seniors as they grow frailer.
"A lot of consumer electronics, taken out of context, seem frivolous and wasteful. Here's a chance to change that narrative," says Green Builder Editor-in-Chief Matt Power. "When you look at today's reality of families facing the inevitability of old age, it can be pretty scary. Even for people with large retirement funds, assisted living costs can rip through those in a matter of months. By comparison, the smart application of tech with well-designed interiors costs a fraction of that amount."
The ALT home of the near future will combine low-tech and high-tech solutions that give residents many forms of "assist" as they go through the day, both physical and mental. Cork floors absorb fall impacts as built-in fall detectors alert family. Passive monitoring tools maintain privacy (i.e. no surveillance cameras), but let the right people know when water use or TV watching patterns change. Driverless taxis whisk seniors to holiday dinner, and deliver them safely back home.
"Honestly, we're encouraging the tech people to dive into this problem in a big way," Power says. "Would you rather spend $25,000 a month to ship your parents off to an assited care community, or build an ADU with the right ALT features for $100,000 that will appreciate in value every year, and greatly reduce the stress on you and your family?"
The Green Builder special report highlights "The Five-Year Flat" (see infographic with this release). Combining the latest wireless tech with traditional accessible features (such as step-in bathtubs), the "granny flat" of the future still looks and feels like home. And Assisted Living Technology is economically far more affordable than assisted care living. Features of an energy-efficient ADU could include:
- Virtual "resistance" travel--exercise combined with virtual reality travel
- Memory station--a centralized to-do board that offer audio reminders and email
- Health checkup center--no intrusive interface, the system works through the bathroom mirror
- Secure perimeter--lights, alarms and sprinkler control ward off fires and trespassers
- Stair assist--live in a multi-level house by standing on a pad and whisking up stairs
- Autonomous vehicles--step in the car and speak the destination
- Water Monitoring--unusual water use patterns trigger call to family
- Power-down back up system--keeps important connections up and running at all times
- Intuitive appliances--refrigerators tracks presence or lack of food and orders food
- Smart floors--softer materials to absorb the shock of falls
"Think about this. Where do you want to live when you're 80?" Power asks. "Would you rather live next door to your daughter and your grandchildren, or in some unfamiliar institution? Tech may not help much if extreme Alzheimer's kicks in, but maybe ALT can buy us enough time to come up with some better treatments for dementia and other illnesses."
Download the report here.
Attachment